A golden palace covered in blinding radiance.
The floor, walls, pillars, ceiling, windows, murals, and even the stairs.
Every object around them was made of gold.
A majestic space that resembled an audience chamber for meeting a king.
Someone was leaning lazily on the golden throne placed at the center.
Long red hair.
Beautiful eyelashes and sorrowful eyes.
Features as if chiseled by a sculptor’s blade and flawless skin without a single blemish.
A handsome young man wearing golden armor was looking down at us.
The one who had received the power of Greed in exchange for offering his soul to a great demon.
It was Dvergr Andvari, the Greed Death Lord.
Then Jeanne stepped forward toward the golden stairs.
“Golden ghost who worships gold more than gods……. A cold-blooded man who would sell even his own flesh and blood for profit…….”
[…….]
“During your days as a wandering merchant, everyone on the Lokpia Continent called you by that derogatory name.”
Andvari stared at Jeanne expressionlessly without answering.
Jeanne continued.
“Yet the Ravianglily Kingdom accepted you, an outsider, and your family as its own. Her Majesty Queen Marian……!”
Black blood dripped from Jeanne’s lips.
“……Her Majesty trusted you. She highly valued your skill and economic knowledge. That is why, despite being a man, you were granted the status of an honorary noble.”
[…….]
“But you…… You trampled all that trust and faith to pieces! Blinded by mere gold, you forgot the grace that was given to you and sold everything to the demons, Andvari!”
Only then did Andvari break his silence and speak.
“What is your purpose in saying such things, princess?”
“What?”
“Did you come to me to criticize my past actions and receive a polite apology?”
His voice carried no trace of emotion.
Jeanne continued with a hollow expression.
“You…… Do you not feel even the slightest shame? For those vile and despicable acts you committed……”
“Shame, you say.”
Andvari rose from his throne.
“Why should I feel shame? ‘The values one holds dear differ from person to person. Acknowledging that point is the path toward harmony.’ ……Queen Marian always used to say that.”
At that moment.
—Boom!
A golden pillar shattered, sending fragments flying.
Jeanne pulled back her fist and continued.
“How dare you speak of Her Majesty Queen Marian’s…… my mother’s teachings with that filthy mouth! Using them as pretty excuses to justify your greed!”
Jeanne lowered her head in silence.
When she raised it again moments later.
“……Do you have anything left to say, Andvari?”
The death knight in black armor was radiating red eyes.
Andvari rested his chin on his hand and said.
“Princess, it was you who started this meaningless conversation in the first place. I had nothing to say from the beginning.”
At that moment.
Clang!
A strike flew in before Andvari could even finish speaking.
However, Andvari blocked the sword of the underworld with his golden greatsword.
Immediately after, a dark red aura erupted from the golden greatsword.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!
Hundreds of golden spikes burst up from the ground.
Just before the sharp spikes could pierce my body.
Ding dong!
<Activating item skill ‘Blood Mist’ from the Blood Mist Ring!>
I barely transformed into blood mist and soared upward.
The golden palace was covered in thick golden spikes.
Between them, the sword clashes between Jeanne and Andvari continued.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ultra-high-speed consecutive strikes that were difficult to follow with the eyes.
Jeanne showed no sign of being pushed back against the Death Lord.
She had grown to a level incomparable to when she fought at the Lethe Tower several months ago.
……And she even obtained an S-rank weapon and armor.
At that moment, a shining light from below caught my eye.
“That’s……!”
I flew toward the glowing object.
A red orb swirling with light.
It was the skill essence of the dark elf legion commander.
—Ding dong!
<Essence of Descent> / Essence / A+
An essence containing the power of the dark elf legion commander.
Absorbing this essence allows one to learn the ‘Descent’ skill.
– Descent <A+>: Receives dark energy to strengthen physical abilities by 10 times. However, the physical enhancement effect is only maintained while holding one’s breath.
Strength, stamina, and agility.
A self-buff that explosively increases all physical abilities—Descent.
There was only one drawback.
To maintain the buff, one had to hold their breath.
Depending on how it was used, it could have endless applications.
……Thank you, strongest legion commander.
I looked at the dark elf legion commander’s corpse.
His body had been cut in half at the waist.
Both the upper and lower body had turned completely into gold.
Meanwhile.
Slice— Slice— Slice— Slice— Slice— Slice—
Jeanne exchanged blows with Andvari.
Although she was cut and torn by the golden greatsword, Jeanne’s body did not turn into gold.
……Does the gold transformation curse only work on living beings?
If so, Jeanne was the perfect person to defeat Andvari.
Then Jeanne advanced while cutting through the swirling golden slashes.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom~!
Her face was torn, her side gouged, and her thigh pierced.
Nevertheless, Jeanne continued advancing toward Andvari.
Andvari let out a short exclamation.
“Princess. More than half a century has passed since the day your kingdom fell. Yet you still burn with vengeance. What drives you? What keeps you from stopping?”
[…….]
“Pride? Fighting spirit? Will? Promise? Friendship? Love? What is it that sustains you?”
Soon Jeanne’s voice rang out.
“……The driving force that keeps me standing is ‘fear’.”
“Fear? An interesting answer.”
“If I fall here, what kind of result awaits me? Imagining that scene terrifies me to the bone. The only way to erase that fear is to kill every single one of you without exception!”
“……You truly are a knight of death.”
Then Jeanne corrected her stance.
Two black petals formed above Jeanne’s head.
The mana cultivation method that had reached the Two Leaves stage was explosively raising Jeanne’s mana.
『Seven Demon First Strike Secret: Gluttony Slash, Beelzebub』
Then Jeanne swung the sword of the underworld.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom—!
Black sword energy surged forward, devouring the gold around it.
The aura of gluttony swirled with violent wind pressure.
Watching this, Andvari muttered quietly.
“Binsfeld…… So you chose that path in the end.”
Then Andvari raised his golden greatsword.
At the same time.
『Seven Demon Second Strike Secret: Greed Slash, Mammon』
An aura so hot it could melt the golden throne shot forward in the shape of a slash.
Rumble rumble rumble~!
The golden spikes that had risen in front melted from the heat and crumbled in all directions.
Then.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
The two Secret techniques collided in the center of the palace.
A dark blue aura that devoured everything and a dark red aura that melted everything swirled and rose together.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!
The explosive torrent of the Seven Demon techniques vanished as if by magic.
The two equal powers had canceled each other out.
“Haa…… Haa…… Haa…….”
Jeanne breathed heavily.
On the other hand, Andvari stood with an expressionless face.
“Princess, that technique and that sword…… They are too much for you.”
At the same time.
……Thud!
Andvari closed the distance to Jeanne in an instant.
He had already grabbed the blade of the sword of the underworld.
“How can you struggle so much while possessing such a magnificent sword?”
“Kuk~!?”
Jeanne tried to pull the blade free, but.
Drrrrrrrr—
The blade held by Andvari didn’t budge.
“Your muscles and bones are screaming, crushed by the pressure of mana. If you were still alive, you wouldn’t even be able to move due to the artifact’s agony. Being a death knight is quite fortunate, isn’t it, princess?”
“Shut that mouth!”
Jeanne kicked Andvari in the abdomen.
But.
Whoosh—
Andvari lightly dodged it.
At the same time.
Crunch!
Andvari roughly tore off the shoulder portion of the symbiote breastplate.
“A living armor…… Interesting.”
The symbiote fragment wriggled in Andvari’s grip.
“It possesses powerful mana as well. Yet you cannot even draw out half its strength. I cannot help but sigh.”
At that moment.
Crunch!
Sharp teeth sprouted from the symbiote fragment and bit into the back of Andvari’s hand.
Flesh was torn away.
Taking advantage of the moment, the symbiote fragment returned to Jeanne’s shoulder.
“It only obeys its acknowledged master, I see……”
The back of Andvari’s hand had already healed cleanly.
Then Andvari continued.
“Princess. What do you think is the difference between a king and a slave?”
[…….]
“I am not talking about class systems. There is one thing that separates a king from a slave.”
Andvari walked around as he spoke.
“A king gives orders. A slave obeys them. From the lords of creation to the lowliest creatures. All living beings are divided into kings and slaves. When the king gives an order, the slave must simply follow. Whether the order is righteous or foolish.”
Andvari continued with an expressionless face.
“The queen was a wise and benevolent leader. Her policies eased the discrimination that was rampant in the Ravianglily Kingdom and created an environment where the weak could live comfortably.”
“Knowing that, you still did such things……!”
“I did it precisely because I knew. A nation for the weak cannot exist. Ravianglily was like a carriage racing toward a cliff. It was only natural for it to be destroyed if the queen pursuing such ideals could not fulfill her role as ruler.”
[………]
“I did not want to become a slave who runs around, gets torn apart, and dies as ordered. If the king cannot perform his duty…… then the only option is to cut him off and throw him away.”
Andvari looked at Jeanne and said.
“I will answer your earlier question, princess. Why I sold out Ravianglily…….”
[…………]
“A king gives orders, and slaves obey them. At that time, we were your kings, and you were merely our slaves.”
“And……vari……!”
Jeanne charged while swinging the sword of the underworld.
But at that moment.
Slice—!
The golden greatsword deeply slashed Jeanne’s side.
“……Ugh!”
Her intestines spilled out along with black blood.
Jeanne clutched her side and collapsed.
“Andvari, what is…… what is the purpose of you and your kind…… What do you want that you would do such things……”
Black blood gushed from Jeanne’s mouth.
Then Andvari muttered in a low voice.
“……Those who cannot transcend death should not seek to know anything.”
The golden greatsword rose into the sky.
The sharp blade began to descend toward Jeanne’s neck.
At that moment.
Fweeeet—!
A clear whistle sounded.
The golden greatsword stopped dead in mid-air.
Andvari slowly turned his head toward me.
“……Surprising. I didn’t expect you to still be alive.”
“I’m surprised too. I never thought I’d almost die because of a gold nugget I’ve barely even touched in my life.”
“If you were lucky enough to survive, you should have run away without looking back. That way you could have kept your life.”
I shrugged and replied.
“How could I? My one and only disciple is getting beaten right in front of me.”
[…….]
Andvari let out a short sigh.
“What can someone like you—with your frail body and meager mana—possibly do?”
“Ah, of course I can’t do much myself.”
I have pretty good self-awareness, if I do say so myself.
But.
“I do have plenty of things that can do a lot.”
Not everything in this world has to be handled personally.
Then.
Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble—
The air began to shake violently.
At the same time, Andvari looked into the empty space and muttered.
His jet-black pupils within already dark sclera trembled violently.
“What in the world is this……!?”
A black hell gate burning with red sulfur flames had appeared before Andvari.
Ding dong!
<Obeying the ‘Open’ command.>
<Opening Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.>
Then I looked at Andvari and said.
“……Welcome. First time seeing the Magical Warehouse?”